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Youth Worker
Supports young people through mentoring, activities, and programs to build confidence and skills.
Did you know?
Big Brothers Big Sisters began in 1904 when a New York court clerk, Ernest Coulter, found volunteers to mentor boys who kept ending up in court.
How subjects help
- Psychology: Mentor a teenager through tough times and help them believe in themselves.
- Sociology: Understand the pressures young people face from friends, family and online life.
- Education: Run workshops that teach life skills like cooking, budgeting or job hunting.
- Sports Science: Organise sports sessions that build teamwork and keep young people active.
A famous name
Robert Baden-Powell: Founded the Scout movement and, with his sister Agnes, the Girl Guides.
Try it yourself: Practise listening the SHUSH way
- Ask your partner to talk for three minutes about something ordinary and happy, like the best day they've had this year.
- Listen the SHUSH way: Show you care (phone away, look at them), Have patience, Use open questions ("Tell me more"), Say it back to check you understood, and Have courage to let a silence happen.
- Don't interrupt or offer a solution: just listen.
- Swap roles. If there is a third person, they watch and say which SHUSH tip they saw each of you use.
Social workers, counsellors and mediators spend much of their day listening carefully like this, so people feel heard before anyone talks about what happens next.
Adapted from Samaritans: DEAL: developing listening skills (SHUSH listening tips).
Also try: Test your balance like a physio.
Known for it in
UK, Australia, USA, Netherlands, Canada